Georgian Parliament Speaker on Helsinki Commission Georgia briefing: no congressmen came - not even Joe Wilson

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday criticised a recent briefing held by the US Helsinki Commission, stating that the session was so insignificant that even US Congressman Joe Wilson did not attend.

Speaking to the media, Papuashvili said that the absence of Wilson and other congressmen clearly demonstrated the nature of the event.

“It was a session that even Joe Wilson did not attend, let alone other congressmen. The fact that even Joe Wilson did not attend makes it clear what we were dealing with. We saw Olesya Vartanyan and Bakhti Nishanov gossiping among themselves about Georgia. The content is important as well - how they were calling for interference in Georgia’s internal affairs”, he said.

The Speaker also focused on remarks made during the session by Laura Thornton, the senior director for global democracy programs at the McCain Institute, claiming she acknowledged the existence of illegal schemes used to channel funds into Georgia.

“As for Ms. Thornton, there was only one American there - she is the second person after Marta Kos to admit that illegal, black schemes for bringing money into Georgia exist. She admitted this, said that these schemes exist, and refrained from specifying details. It is understandable why she refrained, because she would have had to expose a criminal offense - all these schemes are criminal, since their purpose is to circumvent Georgian legislation. This once again substantiates the amendments that Ambassador Herczyński criticised”, he noted.

He argued that these admissions justify recent legislative amendments adopted by the Georgian Parliament - amendments that have faced criticism from European officials, including EU Ambassador Paweł Herczyński.

“Mr. Herczyński should not be asking us questions; he should ask Ms. Kos, his superior, who said they are looking for ways to bypass Georgian law and give money to organisations they have hired without the attention of the Georgian people. If he is not personally informed about the matter, he should ask his superior what kind of schemes they are arranging to circumvent Georgian laws. He should also ask Ms. Thornton, who admitted the existence of such schemes - and we certainly know that they exist”, Papuashvili said.

The Speaker also described what he called a simplified alternative scheme for financing organisations from abroad.

“Foreigners like to say that Georgia is small, that everyone knows everyone, and they fail to realise that indeed everyone knows everyone and nothing is hidden - including the schemes they are arranging. I will mention one scheme - the simplest one they chose. Instead of foreign foundations and donors directly granting funds to an organization, which would have required consent, they began not to give the money in a lump sum but to hire the employees of these organisations under contracts and transfer money to them individually”, he noted.

Papuashvili argued that such practices demonstrated deliberate attempts to evade legal requirements and claimed that these actions explain why the recent amendments became necessary.

“When someone who arrived here two or three years ago thinks they can outsmart Georgians, they should look at our history and understand who and what they are dealing with. So they should ask themselves why all these amendments we are adopting became necessary - because the European Union is violating Georgian legislation and, as Marta Kos herself admitted, is trying to circumvent it. According to Laura Thornton’s admission, schemes have been arranged”, Papuashvili concluded.